Systems and methods for monitoring on-route transportations

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a method and system for monitoring on route transportations. The method includes obtaining a driving route of a target vehicle; obtaining a reference position on the driving route away from a first current position of the target vehicle; determining a second current position of the target vehicle after a reference time; determining a distance between the second current position and the reference position is greater than a preset distance; and sending a signal to a target terminal indicating that the target vehicle is off-route.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/988,913, filed on May 24, 2018, a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/989,338, filed on May 25, 2018, and acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/989,345, filed onMay 25, 2018, all of which are continuations of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/851,571 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,008,101), filed on Dec. 21,2017, which is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/CN2016/111376, filed on Dec. 21, 2016, designating the United Statesof America, which claims priority of Chinese Patent Application No.201610051324.7 filed on Jan. 26, 2016, Chinese Patent Application No.201610093286.1 filed on Feb. 17, 2016, and Chinese Patent ApplicationNo. 201610881276.4 filed on Oct. 9, 2016, the entire contents of each ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates generally to management of transportation ofservices. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to onlinemonitoring of on-route transportation of vehicles.

BACKGROUND

On-demand services, such as transportation service, hailing services,heavily rely on vehicle management systems for vehicle dispatching.Vehicle management systems employed for taxi and limousine typically useonboard metering devices, radios, and cell phones to dispatch drivers.Such a system typically is not communicative to customer passengers whorequest the transportation services, and/or does not monitor thedistribution of their customers that are waiting for pickup.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a system is provided. Thesystem includes at least one processor and a computer-readable storagemedium storing a first set of instructions for monitoring a targetvehicle. When executing the first set of instructions, the at least oneprocessor is detected to: obtain a driving route of the target vehicle;obtain a reference position on the driving route away from a firstcurrent position of the target vehicle; determine a second currentposition of the target vehicle after a reference time; determine adistance between the second current position and the reference positionis greater than a preset distance; and send a signal to a targetterminal indicating that the target vehicle is off-route.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. Themethod is related to the method of monitoring a target vehicle. Themethod includes obtaining a driving route of a target vehicle; obtaininga reference position on the driving route away from a first currentposition of the target vehicle; determining a second current position ofthe target vehicle after a reference time; determining a distancebetween the second current position and the reference position isgreater than a preset distance; and sending a signal to a targetterminal indicating that the target vehicle is off-route.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a system is provided. Thesystem includes at least one processor and a computer-readable storagemedium storing a second set of instructions for sending emergencyinformation. When executing the second set of instructions, the at leastone processor is detected to: initiate a transportation transactionbetween a first party and a second party through an onlinetransportation service platform; send registration information of thesecond party to the first party; determine an occurrence of an emergencyto the first party; and send an emergency alert including a position ofthe occurrence of the emergency and registration information to a targetterminal.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. Themethod is related to the method of sending emergency information. Themethod includes initiating a transportation transaction between a firstparty and a second party through an online transportation serviceplatform; sending registration information of the second party to thefirst party; determining an occurrence of an emergency to the firstparty; and sending an emergency alert including a position of theoccurrence of the emergency and registration information to a targetterminal.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a system is provided. Thesystem includes at least one processor and a computer-readable storagemedium storing a third set of instructions for sending identificationinformation of a safe mode. When executing the third set ofinstructions, the at least one processor is detected to: establish acommunication between a first party and a second party through an onlinetransportation service platform; obtain the identification informationof the safe mode of the first party from the first party; and inform thesecond party that the first party is in the safe mode upon obtaining theidentification information of the safe mode.

In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. Themethod is related to the method of sending identification information ofa safe mode. The method includes establishing a communication between afirst party and a second party through an online transportation serviceplatform; obtaining the identification information of the safe mode ofthe first party from the first party; and informing the second partythat the first party is in the safe mode upon obtaining theidentification information of the safe mode.

In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a system is provided. Thesystem includes at least one processor and a computer-readable storagemedium storing a fourth set of instructions for sending at least onepoint of interest (POI). When executing the fourth set of instructions,the at least one processor is detected to: initiate a transportationtransaction between a first party and a second party through an onlinetransportation service platform; obtain a POI driving route of a firstparty, wherein the POI driving route includes at least one POI; and sendthe POI driving route to the first party when the first party is withina predetermined distance from the at least one POI.

In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. Themethod is related to the method of sending at least one point ofinterest (POI). The method includes initiating a transportationtransaction between a first party and a second party through an onlinetransportation service platform; obtaining a POI driving route of afirst party, wherein the POI driving route includes at least one POI;and sending the POI driving route to the first party when the firstparty is within a predetermined distance from the at least one POI.

Additional features will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the artupon examination of the following and the accompanying drawings or maybe learned by production or operation of the examples. The features ofthe present disclosure may be realized and attained by practice or useof various aspects of the methodologies, instrumentalities andcombinations set forth in the detailed examples discussed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The methods, systems, and/or programming described herein are furtherdescribed in terms of exemplary embodiments. These exemplary embodimentsare described in detail with reference to the drawings. Theseembodiments are non-limiting exemplary embodiments, in which likereference numerals represent similar structures throughout the severalviews of the drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary on-demand service systemaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware andsoftware components of a computing device on which the server, therequestor terminal, and/or the provider terminal may be implementedaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary processing engineaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method and/or process fortransmitting identification information of a safe mode between partiesaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary method and/or process for guidinga first party and/or a second party to a pick up position according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary method and/or process formonitoring a target vehicle according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary driving routes andreference positions according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an exemplary method and/or process for sendingemergency information according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9-A is a primary view of an exemplary user interface of the onlinetransportation service platform for displaying alert tutorialinformation according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9-B is a variation diagram of an exemplary user interfacedisplaying an alert button according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9-C is a variation diagram of an exemplary user interfacedisplaying online help information according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an exemplary method and/or process for sendinga POI driving route to a first party and/or a second party according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11-A is a primary view of an exemplary user interface of the onlinetransportation service platform for displaying a map including a pickupposition according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 11-B is a primary view of an exemplary user interface of the onlinetransportation service platform for displaying a map including a part ofa POI driving route according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, systems,components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively highlevel, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspectsof the present disclosure.

The present disclosure describes methods and systems for monitoringon-route transportations that may carry a service requester, a serviceprovider, and/or goods. The methods and systems as disclosed herein aimat determining the travelling condition of one or more partiesassociated with the transportations. The travelling condition mayinclude a driving route of the transportation, a current position of thetransportation, whether the transportation is on-route or not, whetherthere is an occurrence of emergency, or the like, or any combinationthereof. The methods and systems as disclosed herein also provide waysfor preventing, and/or responding to the occurrence of emergency. Theways may include sending a route of the transportations, providing safemode transportations, monitoring or recoding the transportations,sending an emergency alert, or the like, or any combination thereof.

The systems and methods for monitoring transportations may be used indifferent transportation systems (transportation includes but is notlimited to land transportation, sea transportation and airtransportation, or the like, or a combination thereof) including, suchas vehicle management system employed for taxi and limousine, intra-cityexpress delivery system, or the like. It is understood that theseexemplary applications of the system and method disclosed herein areprovided for illustration purposes, and not intended to limit the scopeof the present disclosure. The disclosed system and method may beapplied in other contexts, e.g., other on-demand services.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present disclosure,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, may become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description with reference to the accompanying drawings, allof which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be expresslyunderstood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure. It is understood that the drawings arenot to scale.

The flowcharts used in the present disclosure illustrate operations thatsystems implement according to some embodiments in the presentdisclosure. It is to be expressly understood, the operations of theflowchart may be implemented not in order. Conversely, the operationsmay be implemented in inverted order, or simultaneously. Moreover, oneor more other operations may be added to the flowcharts. One or moreoperations may be removed from the flowcharts.

In the present disclosure, a “user,” a “passenger,” a “requester,” a“service requester,” and a “customer” are used interchangeably to referto individuals that are requesting or ordering a service. Also, a“provider,” a “service provider,” and a “supplier” are usedinterchangeably to refer to an individual, an entity or a tool that mayprovide a service or facilitate the providing of the service. The term“party” may refer to an individual that is requesting or ordering aservice, or an individual, an entity that may provide a service. Theterm “user terminal” in the present disclosure may refer to a tool thatmay be used to request a service, order a service, facilitate therequesting of the service, provide a service, or facilitate theproviding of the service.

Vehicles of the transportation systems may include a taxi, a privatecar, a hitch, a bus, a train, a bullet train, a high speed rail, asubway, a vessel, an aircraft, a spaceship, a hot-air balloon, adriverless vehicle, or the like, or any combination thereof. Thetransportation system may also include any transportation system formanagement and/or distribution, for example, a system for sending and/orreceiving an express. The application of the system or method of thepresent disclosure may include a webpage, a plug-in of a browser, aclient terminal, a custom system, an internal analysis system, anartificial intelligence robot, or the like, or any combination thereof.

The term “service request” and “order” in the present disclosure areused interchangeably to refer to a request that may be initiated by apassenger, a requester, a service requester, a customer, a driver, aprovider, a service provider, a supplier, or the like, or anycombination thereof. The service request may be accepted by any one of apassenger, a requester, a service requester, a customer, a driver, aprovider, a service provider, or a supplier. The service request may bechargeable or free.

The positioning technology used in the present disclosure may be basedon a global positioning system (GPS), a global navigation satellitesystem (GLONASS), a compass navigation system (COMPASS), a Galileopositioning system, a quasi-zenith satellite system (QZSS), a wirelessfidelity (WiFi) positioning technology, or the like, or any combinationthereof. One or more of the above positioning systems may be usedinterchangeably in the present disclosure.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to online systems andmethods for monitoring on-route transportations. The systems and methodsmay do so by obtaining a driving route of a target vehicle, obtaining areference position on the driving route of the target vehicle,determining a current position of the target vehicle and determiningwhether the target vehicle is on route or not based on the referenceposition and the current position.

It should be noted that online on-demand transportation service, such asonline taxi hailing including taxi hailing combination services, is anew form of service rooted only in post-Internet era. It providestechnical solutions to users and service providers that could raise onlyin post-Internet era. In pre-Internet era, when a user hails a taxi onstreet, the taxi request and acceptance occur only between the passengerand one taxi driver that sees the passenger. If the passenger hails ataxi through telephone call, the service request and acceptance mayoccur only between the passenger and one service provider (e.g., onetaxi company or agent). Online taxi, however, allows a user of theservice to real-time and automatic distribute a service request to avast number of individual service providers (e.g., taxi) distance awayfrom the user. It also allows a plurality of service provides to respondto the service request simultaneously and in real-time. Therefore,through Internet, the online on-demand transportation systems mayprovide a much more efficient transaction platform for the users and theservice providers that may never met in a traditional pre-Internettransportation service system.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary on-demand service system 100according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example,the on-demand service system 100 may be an online transportation serviceplatform for transportation services such as taxi hailing, chauffeurservice, express car, carpool, bus service, driver hire and shuttleservice. The on-demand service system 100 may be an online platformincluding a server 110, a network 120, a requestor terminal 130, aprovider terminal 140, and a database 150. The server 110 may include aprocessing engine 112.

In some embodiments, the server 110 may be a single server, or a servergroup. The server group may be centralized, or distributed (e.g., server110 may be a distributed system). In some embodiments, the server 110may be local or remote. For example, the server 110 may accessinformation and/or data stored in the requestor terminal 130, theprovider terminal 140, and/or the database 150 via the network 120. Asanother example, the server 110 may be directly connected to therequestor terminal 130, the provider terminal 140, and/or the database150 to access stored information and/or data. In some embodiments, theserver 110 may be implemented on a cloud platform. Merely by way ofexample, the cloud platform may include a private cloud, a public cloud,a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud,a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the server 110 may be implemented on a computing device 200having one or more components illustrated in FIG. 2 in the presentdisclosure.

In some embodiments, the server 110 may include a processing engine 112.The processing engine 112 may process information and/or data relatingto the service request to perform one or more functions described in thepresent disclosure. For example, the processing engine 112 may determinea target vehicle based on the service request obtained from therequestor terminal 130. In some embodiments, the processing engine 112may include one or more processing engines (e.g., single-core processingengine(s) or multi-core processor(s)). Merely by way of example, theprocessing engine 112 may include a central processing unit (CPU), anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application-specificinstruction-set processor (ASIP), a graphics processing unit (GPU), aphysics processing unit (PPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), acontroller, a microcontroller unit, a reduced instruction-set computer(RISC), a microprocessor, or the like, or any combination thereof.

The network 120 may facilitate exchange of information and/or data. Insome embodiments, one or more components in the on-demand service system100 (e.g., the server 110, the requestor terminal 130, the providerterminal 140, and the database 150) may send information and/or data toother component(s) in the on-demand service system 100 via the network120. For example, the server 110 may obtain/acquire service request fromthe requestor terminal 130 via the network 120. In some embodiments, thenetwork 120 may be any type of wired or wireless network, or combinationthereof. Merely by way of example, the network 130 may include a cablenetwork, a wireline network, an optical fiber network, a telecommunications network, an intranet, an Internet, a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN),a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a publictelephone switched network (PSTN), a Bluetooth network, a ZigBeenetwork, a near field communication (NFC) network, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the network 120 may includeone or more network access points. For example, the network 120 mayinclude wired or wireless network access points such as base stationsand/or internet exchange points 120-1, 120-2, . . . , through which oneor more components of the on-demand service system 100 may be connectedto the network 120 to exchange data and/or information.

In some embodiments, a requestor may be a user of the requestor terminal130. In some embodiments, the user of the requestor terminal 130 may besomeone other than the requestor. For example, a user A of the requestorterminal 130 may use the requestor terminal 130 to send a servicerequest for a user B, or receive service and/or information orinstructions from the server 110. In some embodiments, a provider may bea user of the provider terminal 140. In some embodiments, the user ofthe provider terminal 140 may be someone other than the provider. Forexample, a user C of the provider terminal 140 may use the providerterminal 140 to receive a service request for a user D, and/orinformation or instructions from the server 110. In some embodiments,“requestor” and “requestor terminal” may be used interchangeably, and“provider” and “provider terminal” may be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, the requestor terminal 130 may include a mobiledevice 130-1, a tablet computer 130-2, a laptop computer 130-3, abuilt-in device in a motor vehicle 130-4, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the mobile device 130-1 mayinclude a smart home device, a wearable device, a smart mobile device, avirtual reality device, an augmented reality device, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the smart home device mayinclude a smart lighting device, a control device of an intelligentelectrical apparatus, a smart monitoring device, a smart television, asmart video camera, an interphone, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the wearable device may include a smartbracelet, a smart footgear, a smart glass, a smart helmet, a smartwatch, a smart clothing, a smart backpack, a smart accessory, or thelike, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the smart mobiledevice may include a smartphone, a personal digital assistance (PDA), agaming device, a navigation device, a point of sale (POS) device, or thelike, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the virtualreality device and/or the augmented reality device may include a virtualreality helmet, a virtual reality glass, a virtual reality patch, anaugmented reality helmet, an augmented reality glass, an augmentedreality patch, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, thevirtual reality device and/or the augmented reality device may include aGoogle Glass, an Oculus Rift, a Hololens, a Gear VR, etc. In someembodiments, built-in device in the motor vehicle 130-4 may include anonboard computer, an onboard television, etc. In some embodiments, therequestor terminal 130 may be a device with positioning technology forlocating the position of the requestor and/or the requestor terminal130.

In some embodiments, the provider terminal 140 may be similar to, or thesame device as the requestor terminal 130. In some embodiments, theprovider terminal 140 may be a device with positioning technology forlocating the position of the provider and/or the provider terminal 140.In some embodiments, the requestor terminal 130 and/or the providerterminal 140 may communicate with other positioning device to determinethe position of the requestor, the requestor terminal 130, the provider,and/or the provider terminal 140. In some embodiments, the requestorterminal 130 and/or the provider terminal 140 may send positioninginformation to the server 110.

The database 150 may store data and/or instructions. In someembodiments, the database 150 may store data obtained from the requestorterminal 130 and/or the provider terminal 140. In some embodiments, thedatabase 150 may store data and/or instructions that the server 110 mayexecute or use to perform exemplary methods described in the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments, database 150 may include a massstorage, a removable storage, a volatile read-and-write memory, aread-only memory (ROM), or the like, or any combination thereof.Exemplary mass storage may include a magnetic disk, an optical disk, asolid-state drives, etc. Exemplary removable storage may include a flashdrive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zip disk, amagnetic tape, etc. Exemplary volatile read-and-write memory may includea random access memory (RAM). Exemplary RAM may include a dynamic RAM(DRAM), a double date rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a staticRAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM),etc. Exemplary ROM may include a mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM(PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (PEROM), an electrically erasableprogrammable ROM (EEPROM), a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), and a digitalversatile disk ROM, etc. In some embodiments, the database 150 may beimplemented on a cloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloudplatform may include a private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, acommunity cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, orthe like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the database 150 may be connected to the network120 to communicate with one or more components in the on-demand servicesystem 100 (e.g., the server 110, the requestor terminal 130, theprovider terminal 140, etc.). One or more components in the on-demandservice system 100 may access the data or instructions stored in thedatabase 150 via the network 120. In some embodiments, the database 150may be directly connected to or communicate with one or more componentsin the on-demand service system 100 (e.g., the server 110, the requestorterminal 130, the provider terminal 140, etc.). In some embodiments, thedatabase 150 may be part of the server 110.

In some embodiments, one or more components in the on-demand servicesystem 100 (e.g., the server 110, the requestor terminal 130, theprovider terminal 140, etc.) may have a permission to access thedatabase 150. In some embodiments, one or more components in theon-demand service system 100 may read and/or modify information relatingto the requestor, provider, and/or the public when one or moreconditions are met. For example, the server 110 may read and/or modifyone or more users' information after a service. As another example, theprovider terminal 140 may access information relating to the requestorwhen receiving a service request from the requestor terminal 130, butthe provider terminal 140 may not modify the relevant information of therequestor.

In some embodiments, information exchanging of one or more components inthe on-demand service system 100 may be achieved by way of requesting aservice. The object of the service request may be any product. In someembodiments, the product may be a tangible product, or an immaterialproduct. The tangible product may include food, medicine, commodity,chemical product, electrical appliance, clothing, car, housing, luxury,or the like, or any combination thereof. The immaterial product mayinclude a servicing product, a financial product, a knowledge product,an internet product, or the like, or any combination thereof. Theinternet product may include an individual host product, a web product,a mobile internet product, a commercial host product, an embeddedproduct, or the like, or any combination thereof. The mobile internetproduct may be used in a software of a mobile terminal, a program, asystem, or the like, or any combination thereof. The mobile terminal mayinclude a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a personaldigital assistance (PDA), a smart watch, a point of sale (POS) device,an onboard computer, an onboard television, a wearable device, or thelike, or any combination thereof. For example, the product may be anysoftware and/or application used in the computer or mobile phone. Thesoftware and/or application may relate to socializing, shopping,transporting, entertainment, learning, investment, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the software and/orapplication relating to transporting may include a traveling softwareand/or application, a vehicle scheduling software and/or application, amapping software and/or application, etc. In the vehicle schedulingsoftware and/or application, the vehicle may include a horse, acarriage, a rickshaw (e.g., a wheelbarrow, a bike, a tricycle, etc.), acar (e.g., a taxi, a bus, a private car, etc.), a train, a subway, avessel, an aircraft (e.g., an airplane, a helicopter, a space shuttle, arocket, a hot-air balloon, etc.), or the like, or any combinationthereof.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware andsoftware components of a computing device 200 on which the server 110,the requestor terminal 130, and/or the provider terminal 140 may beimplemented according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Forexample, the processing engine 112 may be implemented on the computingdevice 200 and configured to perform functions of the processing engine112 disclosed in this disclosure.

The computing device 200 may be a general purpose computer or a specialpurpose computer, both may be used to implement an on-demand system forthe present disclosure. The computing device 200 may be used toimplement any component of the on-demand service as described herein.For example, the processing engine 112 may be implemented on thecomputing device 200, via its hardware, software program, firmware, or acombination thereof. Although only one such computer is shown, forconvenience, the computer functions relating to the on-demand service asdescribed herein may be implemented in a distributed fashion on a numberof similar platforms, to distribute the processing load.

The computing device 200, for example, may include COM ports 250connected to and from a network connected thereto to facilitate datacommunications. The computing device 200 may also include a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 220, in the form of one or more processors, forexecuting program instructions. The exemplary computer platform mayinclude an internal communication bus 210, program storage and datastorage of different forms, for example, a disk 270, and a read onlymemory (ROM) 230, or a random access memory (RAM) 240, for various datafiles to be processed and/or transmitted by the computer. The exemplarycomputer platform may also include program instructions stored in theROM 230, RAM 240, and/or other type of non-transitory storage medium tobe executed by the CPU 220. The methods and/or processes of the presentdisclosure may be implemented as the program instructions. The computingdevice 200 may also include an I/O component 260, supportinginput/output between the computer and other components therein such asuser interface elements 280. The computing device 200 may also receiveprogramming and data via network communications.

Merely for illustration, only one CPU and/or processor is described inthe computing device 200. However, it should be noted that the computingdevice 200 in the present disclosure may also include multiple CPUsand/or processors, thus operations and/or method steps that areperformed by one CPU and/or processor as described in the presentdisclosure may also be jointly or separately performed by the multipleCPUs and/or processors. For example, if in the present disclosure theCPU and/or processor of the computing device 200 executes both step Aand step B, it should be understood that step A and step B may also beperformed by two different CPUs and/or processors jointly or separatelyin the computing device 200 (e.g., the first processor executes step Aand the second processor executes step B, or the first and secondprocessors jointly execute steps A and B).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary processing engine112 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Theprocessing engine 112 may include an acquisition module 302, adetermination module 304, a matching module 306, and an allocationmodule 308.

The acquisition module 302 may be configured to obtain a plurality oforders from a plurality of requestors. As used herein, the system 100may generate an order based on a request for an on-demand service sentby a requestor. It should be noted that in the disclosure there is nosubstantial difference between an order and a request.

The on-demand service may be a transportation service for a taxi, aprivate vehicle, a bus, a truck, a test drive, a designated driving, orthe like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the on-demandservice may be any on-line service, such as booking a meal, shopping, orthe like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the requestormay choose whether to agree to share a service with other requestors inthe on-demand service request. For example, the requestor may disagreeto share a service with other requestors in any circumstances. Asanother example, the requestor may agree to share a service with otherrequestors under some situations (e.g., in traffic peak period).

The acquisition module 302 may obtain the plurality of orders from therequestor terminal 130 via the network 120. The acquisition module 302may further obtain features (e.g., a start location, a destination) ofthe plurality of orders.

The determination module 304 may be configured to determine matchinginformation of the plurality of orders based on the features. Thedetermination module 304 may determine matching information between anytwo of the plurality of orders. The matching information may indicatewhether the two orders may be sharable.

The matching module 306 may be configured to determine a set of sharableorders based on the matching information. As used herein, a sharableorder may refer to an order that may be combined with other order(s).For example, if order A and order B include a similar start location ora similar destination, the matching module 306 may determine order A andorder B as sharable orders. As used herein, a similar start location mayrefer to a start location of order A is reasonably close to a startlocation of order B for an ordinary person in the art. For example, if adistance between the start location of order A and the start location oforder B is less than a threshold, such as 500 meters, 1 kilometer, or1.5 kilometer, the system 100 may determine that the order A and order Binclude a similar start location. Likewise, the system may determine thesimilar destination in a similar way.

The allocation module 308 may allocate the set of sharable orders toproviders. For example, the allocation module 308 may combine two of theset of sharable orders as an order group and allocate the order group toa provider (e.g., a driver).

The modules in the processing engine 112 may be connected to orcommunicate with each other via a wired connection or a wirelessconnection. The wired connection may include a metal cable, an opticalcable, a hybrid cable, or the like, or any combination thereof. Thewireless connection may include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide AreaNetwork (WAN), a Bluetooth, a ZigBee, a Near Field Communication (NFC),or the like, or any combination thereof. Two or more of the modules maybe combined as a single module, and any one of the modules may bedivided into two or more units. For example, the acquisition module 302may be integrated in the determination module 304 as a single modulewhich may both obtain features of orders and determine matchinginformation of the orders.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method and/or process fortransmitting identification information of safe mode between partiesaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The processand/or method may be operated by a computer server (e.g., the server110) of an online transportation service platform of the on-demandservice system 100. For example, the method and/or process may beimplemented as a set of instructions and stored in at least one storagemedium of the online transportation service platform. At least oneprocessor of a computer server of the platform may communicate with thestorage medium and execute the set of instructions to perform thefollowing steps.

In some embodiments, one or more passengers may book and/or obtaintransportation services via an online transportation service platform,such as the on-demand service system 100, while one or more drivers mayprovide transportation services via the online transportation serviceplatform. The passenger(s) may access the online transportation serviceplatform through a user terminal (e.g., a requestor terminal 130). Thedriver(s) may access the online transportation service platform throughanother user terminal (e.g., a provider terminal 140). The user terminalmay be a mobile terminal or a personal computer (PC). The user terminalmay include smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tabletcomputer, laptop, carputer (board computer), play station portable(PSP), smart glasses, smart watch, wearable devices, virtual displaydevice, or display enhanced equipment (e.g. Google Glass, Oculus Rift,Hololens, Gear VR), or the like, or any combination thereof.

The passenger(s) may send a service request to a computer server of theonline transportation service platform through the passenger terminal.The service request may generally include departure information anddestination information of the passenger(s). The service request mayalso include a real-time position of the passenger, a passengeridentity, a specific time of the sending of the service request, or thelike, or any combination thereof. Therein the passenger identity mayinclude telephone number, identity number, IP (Internet Protocol)address, MAC (Media Access Control) address, or the like, or anycombination thereof. The computer server may receive the servicerequest. The computer server may obtain a position of the passenger(s).

The computer server may send the service request to one or more driverterminals that login the platform. The driver(s) may receive the servicerequest through the driver terminal and decide whether or not to respondthe service request. When a driver accept the service request, thecomputer server may initiate a transportation transaction between thepassenger(s) and the driver.

In some embodiments, two or more passengers may carpool via the onlinetransportation service platform. It may be indicated that when a driveris providing a first transportation service to a first passenger, thedriver may respond a second transportation service sent from a secondpassenger. The driver may pick up the second passenger before droppingoff the first passenger, and the two passengers may carpool.

In some embodiments, a transportation transaction may involve twoparties. One party may refer to a transportation service provider (e.g.,a driver), while the other party may refer to a service requestor (e.g.,one or more passengers). In some embodiments, two or more transportationtransactions may be intertwined. For example, a transportation serviceprovider may provide two transportation services at the same time,wherein the two transportation services may be originated from twodifferent transportation transactions (i.e., two or more passengers maybe carpooling). That is to say, a running vehicle may involve two ormore parties, including a transportation service provider, a firstservice requester, and/or a second service requester, or the like.

In some embodiments, danger or emergency situation may occur in arunning vehicle. In some embodiments, the danger or emergency situationmay come from an accident. In some embodiments, the danger or emergencysituation may come from one or more parties as illustrated above. Merelyby way of example, the emergency may occur when a transportation serviceprovider hijacks a service requester (e.g., the driver is a robber.). Asanother example, the emergency may occur when a service requesterhijacks a transportation service provider (e.g., the passenger is arobber.). As still another example, the emergency may occur when a firstservice requester hijacks a second service requester (e.g., a kidnapperhails a taxi.).

To prevent the occurrence of the danger or emergency situation, theonline transportation service platform may provide a safe modeservice(s) to one or more of the parties in a transportationtransaction. For example, the online transportation service platform mayprovide the safe mode service to the passenger and/or the driver duringa taxi service. Under safe mode, the online transportation serviceplatform may monitor one or more of the parties to ensure safety of theparties. For example, when the transportation service provider accessesthe safe mode, the online transportation service platform may monitorthe service requestor(s). As another example, when the service requestoraccesses the safe mode, the online transportation service platform maymonitor the transportation service provider. Alternatively, the onlinetransportation service platform may monitor the transportation servicerequester and/or provider regardless of which party initiated the safemode service through his/her corresponding terminal device. For example,the safe mode may be a function provided in an application installed ina taxi driver and/or a passenger's smart phone. Both the taxi driver andthe passenger may login the online transportation service platform viatheir smart phones. The passenger may hail the taxi via the application.When the taxi picks up the passenger, the taxi driver, the passenger, orboth may independently initiate the safe mode. Upon receiving therequest to access the safe mode from the taxi driver and/or thepassenger, one or more computer servers of the online transportationservice platform may monitor the taxi driver, the taxi, and/or thepassenger via their respective smart phone.

In some embodiments, the online transportation service platform mayinform other parties in the transaction when one party is in the safemode. For example, when the passenger initiate the safe mode, the onlinetransportation service platform may inform the driver that the passengerhas initiated the safe mode, so that the driver knows his/hertransportation service is monitored or to be monitored. As illustratedbelow, the online transportation service platform may transmitidentification information of the safe mode between the parties.

In step 410, a computer server may obtain service request and/oridentification information of the safe mode from a first party. Theonline transportation service platform may provide general modeservice(s) and the safe mode service(s) for the first party. The firstparty may choose to access the general mode and the safe mode. In someembodiments, the service(s) may set the general mode as system default.Identification information of the safe mode may refer to information(e.g., a notice, a tag, or the like) that indicate the first party hasaccess the safe mode. The first party may refer to a servicerequestor/receiver, or the like. The first party may access the safemode through a user interface of a first user terminal. For example, apassenger may access the safe mode through a user interface of anapplication installed in a passenger terminal. In some embodiments, theuser interface of the first user terminal may provide a safe mode buttonfor the first party to access the safe mode. In some embodiments, theuser interface of the first user terminal may provide a mode selectionfunction for the first party. The first party may access the safe modebefore a transportation transaction is initiated.

In some embodiments, when the first party is a service requestor, forexample, a passenger, the identification information of the safe modemay be generated when the passenger sends a service request to thecomputer server. The passenger may use a passenger terminal to accessthe online transportation service platform and input travel information,such as the departure information and destination information, or thelike. At the same time, the passenger may choose to access the safemode. In some embodiments, the passenger may select the safe mode whenaccessing the online transportation service platform. The passengerterminal may send a transportation service request associated with thetravel information to the computer server. In the safe mode, thepassenger terminal may send the identification information of the safemode together with the transportation service request to the computerserver. The computer server may obtain information sent from the firstparty accessing the online transportation service platform via thenetwork 120. The information may include the identification informationof the safe mode, and/or the transportation service request, or thelike.

In step 420, the computer server may generate a transportation orderbased on the service request and/or identification information of thesafe mode. The order information may include the identificationinformation of the safe mode, the travel information, or the like, orany combination thereof.

In step 430, the computer server may send the transportation order to asecond party. In some embodiments, the second party may refer to one ormore transportation service providers, or the like. In some embodiments,the second party may refer to a plurality of driver terminals within apredetermined range within the departure position or the position wherethe service request is sent out.

In the safe mode, the computer server may remind the driver terminal(s)that the transportation order is associated with identificationinformation of the safe mode. In some embodiments, the driverterminal(s) may display the identification information of the safe modein a user interface. The driver(s) may distinguish between thetransportation orders of general mode and the safe mode via the userinterface colors of the driver terminal(s). For example, the color ofthe user interface in general mode may be yellow, while the color of theuser interface in the safe mode may be red. The scope of the presentdisclosure does not intend to limit the display manner of theidentification information of the safe mode.

In some embodiments, a transportation service provider, for example, adriver, may access the safe mode. The driver may use a driver terminalto access the online transportation service platform. The driver maychoose the safe mode when accessing the online transportation serviceplatform, responding the service request, or any time there between. Theidentification information of the safe mode may be generated when thedriver responds a service request. In the safe mode, the driver terminalmay send the identification information of the safe mode together withan order taking request to the computer server. When the computer serverinitiates a transportation transaction between the driver and apassenger according to the service request and order taking request, thecomputer server may send the identification information of the safe modeto a passenger terminal of the passenger. The passenger terminal maydisplay the identification information of the safe mode in a userinterface of an application installed in the passenger terminal.

In some embodiments, after the computer server initiates atransportation transaction between a service requestor and atransportation service provider, the service requestor and/or thetransportation service provider may access the safe mode. Identificationinformation of the safe mode may be generated in real time and sent tothe computer server. The computer server may send the identificationinformation of the safe mode to the transportation service provider orservice requestor. A user terminal of the transportation serviceprovider or service requestor may display the identification informationof the safe mode.

In some embodiments, when or after the computer server initiates atransportation transaction, the service provider may pick up the servicerequestor in a pickup position. In some embodiments, the pickup positionof the transportation transaction may be a current position of theservice requestor. Alternatively, the pickup position may be differentfrom a current position of a service requestor. In some embodiments, thepickup position may be different from a current position of atransportation service provider. The computer server may generate one ormore navigation routes for the service requestor and/or thetransportation service provider. The navigation routes may guide theservice requester and/or the transportation service provider to thepickup position. In some embodiments, the pickup position may be presetby the service requestor when the service request is sent to thecomputer server. In some embodiments, the pickup position may bedetermined by the computer server. For example, the computer server maydetermine a point of interest (POI) as the pickup position. The POI maybe near the current position of the service requestor or thetransportation service provider. As illustrated below, the detailedprocess may be described in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary method and/or process for guidinga first party and/or a second party to a pick up position according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. The process and/or methodmay be operated by a computer server (e.g., the server 110) of an onlinetransportation service platform of the on-demand service system 100. Forexample, the method and/or process may be implemented as a set ofinstructions and stored in at least one storage medium of the onlinetransportation service platform. At least one processor of a computerserver of the platform may communicate with the storage medium andexecute the set of instructions to perform the following steps.

In step 510, the computer server may preset a POI database and categoryPOI information. The POI database may include one or more POIs. A POImay refer to a point of interest including a building or a road, forexample, a shopping mall, a park, a school, a hospital, a hotel, arestaurant, a supermarket, a tourist attraction, a landmark, or thelike, or any combination thereof. Each POI may have corresponding POIinformation. The POI information of a POI may refer to informationregarding the POI, including, for example, a POI name, a POI position, aPOI orientation, or the like, or any combination thereof. Merely by wayof example, in New York City, a POI name may be Times Square, a POIposition may be the geographical location of Times Square, a POIorientation may be the south of Times Square.

In some embodiments, the computer server may obtain the POI informationwithin a proper range, for example, a block, a city, a district, acountry, or the like, or any combination thereof. The POI informationmay be obtained by manual collection, package upload, street viewcollection, satellite data collection, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the computer server may update the POIinformation based on terminal (e.g., the requestor terminal 130, theprovider terminal 140, etc.) feedback information. The computer servermay preset a POI database based on the POI information obtained. The POIdatabase may include POI information of one or more POIs.

In some embodiments, the computer server may category POI information inthe POI database. The computer server may category POI information basedon a road direction. A road may have two directions. Along differentdirections of the road, there may have different POI information. Insome embodiments, POI information along the same direction of the roadmay be regarded as the same category. In some embodiments, there mayexist several POIs in a road, but the POI information may be distinct indifferent forward direction. For example, there may be five POIs namedA, B, C, D, and E in a road extending along north-south direction. Whenthe forward direction of the driver is from the north to the south, thePOI may be A, B, and D within a visible range of the driver on one sideof the road (e.g., on the right side of the forward direction, i.e., thewest side of the road); when the forward direction of the driver is fromthe south to the north in the same road, the POI may be C and E within avisible range of the driver on the other side of the road (e.g., on theright side of the forward direction, i.e., the east side of the road).In some embodiments, a POI orientation may include a doorway of a POI, acorner of a POI, one side of the driver forward direction, an oppositeside of the driver forward direction, a diagonally opposite position ofa POI, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, Pekinguniversity east gate, Zhong guancun square north side, or the like.

In step 520, the computer server may initiate a transportationtransaction between a first party and a second party. The first partyand/or the second party may be one of the parties mentioned above. Forexample, the first party may be a passenger, and the second party may bea driver. The computer server may initiate the transportationtransaction based on a service request sent from the passenger. Theservice request may include a desired departure position.

In step 530, the computer server may determine a pick up position. Insome embodiments, the computer server may determine the pickup positionas the desired departure position of the passenger, a current positionof the passenger, a current position of the driver, or the like. In someembodiments, the pickup position may be determined as a POI within apredetermined range (e.g., the nearest POI) of the desired departureposition of the passenger, the current position of the passenger, thecurrent position of the driver, or the like. In some embodiments, thePOI information of the nearest POI may be specific enough to direct thefirst party and/or the second party to the pickup position. Otherwise,it may have bad influence on the passenger experience, cause thewithdrawal of the transportation transaction, or reduce the income of adriver. In some embodiments, the pickup position may include the POIinformation, for example, a name of the POI, a position coordinate ofthe POI, an orientation corresponding to the POI, or the like, or anycombination thereof.

In step 540, the computer server may obtain a first navigation routedirecting the first party (e.g., a passenger) to the pickup position. Insome embodiments, the first navigation route may be a route from thedeparture position of the passenger or the current position of thepassenger to the pickup position. In some embodiments, the firstnavigation route may be a route with a relatively short walkingdistance, or a relatively short walking time. The computer server maysend the first navigation route to a user terminal of the first party.The user terminal of the first party may display the first navigationroute, and the first navigation route may guide the first party to thepickup position.

In step 550, the computer server may obtain a second navigation routedirecting the second party (e.g., a driver) to the pickup position. Insome embodiments, the second navigation route may be a route from thecurrent position of the driver to the pickup position. In someembodiments, the second navigation route may be a route with arelatively short driving time, a relatively short driving distance. Insome embodiments, the second navigation route may be a route avoidingroad congestion. The computer server may deliver the second navigationroute to a user terminal of the second party. The user terminal of thesecond party may display the second navigation route, and the secondnavigation route may guide the second party to the pickup position.

In some embodiments, the first (or second) driving route may have one ormore POIs different from the pickup position. When the first (or second)party goes forward along the first (or second) driving route, thecomputer server may send information regarding the POI(s) name, whetherneed to change direction, and/or when to change direction to the first(or second) party. Thus, the first (or second) party may not need towatch the driving route shown in the user terminal.

In some embodiments, when a second party (e.g., a driver) picks up afirst party (e.g., a passenger), the second party may drive a vehicletowards a desired destination position. In some embodiments, an unmannedvehicle may provide transportation service to a passenger. In someembodiments, a vehicle driven by a driver or unmanned vehicle maytransport goods from a departure position to a destination position. Tounderstand the vehicle transportation situation or ensure the safety ofa passenger, a driver, and/or a vehicle, the vehicle may be monitored.As illustrated below, a detailed monitoring process may be described inFIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary method and/or process formonitoring a target vehicle according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The process and/or method may be operated by a computerserver (e.g., the server 110) of an online transportation serviceplatform of the on-demand service system 100. For example, the methodand/or process may be implemented as a set of instructions and stored inat least one storage medium of the online transportation serviceplatform. At least one processor of a computer server of the platformmay communicate with the storage medium and execute the set ofinstructions to perform the following steps.

In step 610, the computer server may obtain a driving route of thetarget vehicle.

The target vehicle may be a vehicle that accepts the transportationservice request. It may include car, freight car, rail vehicle, SportsUtility Vehicle (SUV), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Unmanned GroundVehicle (UGV), or the like. The target vehicle may be taking apassenger, a driver, and/or goods. In some embodiments, the targetvehicle may go forward along a driving route. In some embodiments, thetarget vehicle may deviate from a predetermined driving route.

The driving route may start from a departure position and end at adestination position. The driving route may be determined based on thedeparture information and destination information of the target vehicle.In some embodiments, the driving route may be a route with a relativelyshort driving time, a relatively short driving distance. In someembodiments, the driving route may be a route avoiding road congestion.

In some embodiments, the driving route may include one or moreintermediate points. The intermediate point(s) may be position(s) thevehicle may pass by as demanded by a passenger, a driver, a goods owner,or the like. Further, the intermediate point(s) may be predetermined orpartially predetermined by the online transportation service platform.In some embodiments, the one or more intermediate points may be one ormore points of interests (POIs). For example, a tourist may wish thedriving route to pass through one or more tourist attractions. In someembodiments, an intermediate point may be a location where the passengerwish to stop by, to meet with someone or pick up a package, for example.

The driving route may be predetermined based on the departure position,the destination position, the POI(s) (if any), and/or the intermediatepoint(s) (if any), or the like, or any combination thereof. For example,a passenger may input departure information, destination information,POI(s), and/or intermediate point(s) through a user terminal when thepassenger sends a service request to the computer server. The computerserver may generate one or more driving routes accordingly. In someembodiments, the driving route(s) may be closed loop(s). For example,when the transportation service requestor is a tourist and plans todepart from his/her hotel for sightseeing and returns to the same hotel,the driving route of the transportation service may be a closed loop. Inthis scenario, the departure position and the destination position maybe the same. When the driving route includes a POI, the driving routemay be regarded as a POI driving route.

In some embodiments, the computer sever may obtain two or more drivingroutes based on the departure information and destination information ofthe passenger. The computer server may deliver an optimal driving routeincluding a plurality of POIs to the passenger terminal and/or thedriver terminal on the target vehicle. In some embodiments, the drivingroute of the driver may be in accordance with the driving route of thepassenger.

In step 630, the computer server may obtain a reference position on thedriving route. In some embodiments, the reference position may be afixed position on the driving route. The reference position may refer toa position on the driving route where the target vehicle may arriveafter a proper time period. In some embodiments, the reference positionmay be a predetermined position on the driving route, such as, the POI,the intermediate point, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, when the reference position is predetermined, the drivingroute may be obtained based on the reference position in step 610. Thatis to say, when the reference position is predetermined based on a POI,an intermediate point, or the like, the driving route may be obtainedbased on the reference position, the departure information, and thedestination information of the driving route.

In some embodiments, the reference position may be dynamicallydetermined based on a first current position of the target vehicle, andthe driving route. To this end, the computer server may determine afirst current position of the target vehicle, and then based on thefirst current position, determine the reference position. The firstcurrent position of the target vehicle may be a real-time position ofthe target vehicle at a first time point. In some embodiments, thecomputer server may store a current position of a user terminal as thereal-time position of the target vehicle. Here, the user terminal may beassociated with at least one of a party (e.g., a driver or a passenger)of the transportation service transaction in the target vehicle. In someembodiments, the computer server may obtain a first current position ofthe user terminal of the driver and/or passenger based on an instructionof the online transportation service platform. In some embodiments, thecomputer server may determine the first current position via a globalposition system (GPS) mounted in the target vehicle.

The reference position may be estimated based on one or more factorsincluding, for example, a current speed of the vehicle, a currentacceleration of the vehicle, a current traffic condition of the firstcurrent position, or the like, or any combination thereof. The trafficcondition may include a degree of the traffic jam, a number of thevehicles, and a situation of traffic light. The computer server mayobtain the traffic condition of the first current position from thedatabase 150, or a database of the computer server, or from otherapplication(s) of application software.

In some embodiments, the reference position may be determined based on areference time and/or a reference distance. For example, the referencetime may be set as five minutes, and the second current position of thetarget vehicle may be the position the target vehicle arrived afterdriving from the first current position for five minutes. The referencedistance may be set depending on the situation, such as 50 meters, 100meters, 1000 meters, and so on. For example, the reference position ofthe target vehicle may be the position the target vehicle arrived afterdriving 200 meters. As another example, the reference distance may beset as one hundred meters, and the second current position of the targetvehicle may be the position the target vehicle arrived after drivingfrom the first current position for one hundred meters. The scope of thepresent disclosure may be not intended to limit the specific value ofthe reference time and/or the reference distance.

In some embodiments, there may be more than one driving route betweenthe departure and the destination. Therefore, there may be multiplereference positions after the target vehicle driving for the referencetime and/or the reference distance. Meanwhile, the multiple referencepositions may be determined based on the multiple driving routes. Forexample, each reference position may be determined on each drivingroute.

In step 640, the computer server may determine a second current positionof the target vehicle after a reference time or a reference distance. Insome embodiments, the second current position of the target vehicle maybe a real-time position of the target vehicle after driving for thereference time and/or the reference distance. The determination of thesecond current position may be similar with that of the first currentposition. For example, the computer server may store a current positionof a user terminal as the second current position of the target vehicle.Wherein, the user terminal may be associated with at least one of aparty (e.g., a driver or a passenger) in the target vehicle. As anotherexample, the computer server may obtain a second current position of theuser terminal of the driver and/or passenger based on an instruction ofthe online transportation service platform. As still another example,the computer server may determine the second current position via aglobal position system (GPS) mounted in the target vehicle.

In step 650, the computer server may determine whether a distancebetween the second current position and the reference position is withina preset distance. The preset distance may be a reasonable distancebetween the second current position and the reference position. In someembodiments, the second current position of the target vehicle may befar from the reference position. For example, the target vehicle may becaught in a traffic jam and may not reach a position around thereference position within the reference time.

When the computer serve determines that the distance between the secondcurrent position and the reference position is within the presetdistance, in step 660, the computer server may determine that the targetvehicle is safe on-route. In some embodiments, the distance between thesecond current position and the reference position may be shorter thanthe preset distance. For example, the second current position may besame as the reference position. It may be indicated that the targetvehicle is running in a predetermined driving route (e.g., the drivingroute obtained in step 610), i.e., the target vehicle may be in a safestate.

In step 665, the computer server may send information of the referenceposition, so that the party that initiate the safe mode may be notifiedthat the vehicle is on-route. For example, if the driver initiates thesafe mode, and/or if the driver sets the reference position in thedriving route, when the target vehicle approaches and/or passes by thereference position, the computer server may notify the driver, bysending the name of the reference position, that the vehicle isnavigating along the route as planned. As a result, it may beunnecessary for the driver to watch a GPS screen in order to identifywhether he/she is on-route.

As another example, if the passenger initiates the safe mode, and/or ifthe passenger sets the reference position in the driving route, when thetarget vehicle approaches and/or passes by the reference position, thecomputer server may notify the passenger, by sending the name of thereference position, that the vehicle is navigating along the route asplanned. As a further example, if the reference position is a POI for atourist, when the target vehicle approaches and/or passes by the POI,the computer server may send the name and related information of thePOI.

In some embodiments, the computer server may even determine whetherthere is a POI near the second current position in the driving route. Ifthe answer is yes, the computer server may send an audio indication to auser terminal of a driver and/or a passenger, or a player of the targetvehicle. In some embodiments, information sent may include the secondcurrent position, the distance between the second current position to anext POI, the POI name, the direction the target vehicle is movingtoward, whether the direction is to be changed, or the like, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, the user terminal maybroadcast the driving route. When a driver is driving a vehicle, he/shemay observe driving route in visible region on a user interface of adriver terminal and/or hear a broadcast of the POI driving route. Itshould be noted that step 665 may be performed before, after, or at thesame time with any step of step 630 through step 690.

In step 670, the computer server may send a current position of thetarget vehicle and/or a traffic condition of the current position to anassociated terminal. In some embodiments, the computer server may send anext reference position to the associated terminal. The associatedterminal may be a terminal associated with a user terminal of the driveror passenger on the target vehicle. A person may understand the travelcondition of the target vehicle via the associated terminal. The personmay be a guardian, a relative, a friend, or the like of the driver orpassenger on the target vehicle. In some embodiments, the associatedterminal may be a terminal associated with the target vehicle. Forexample, the target vehicle may be an unmanned vehicle, a manager orowner of the unmanned vehicle may understand the travel condition of thetarget vehicle via the associated terminal. In some embodiments, thecomputer server may send the information mentioned above to theassociated terminal at periodic intervals. In some embodiments, theassociated terminal may acquire the information automatically atperiodic intervals or any time of need.

When the computer serve determines that the distance between the secondcurrent position and the reference position is not within the presetdistance, in step 680, the computer server may determine that the targetvehicle is off-route. In some embodiments, when the target vehicle isoff-route, the computer server may determine that an emergencyassociated with the target vehicle may occur. For example, the targetvehicle may be at a risk of traffic accident. As another example, thetarget vehicle may be hijacked by a driver or passenger on it. In someembodiments, an occurrence of the emergency may be initiated by thepassenger terminal/driver terminal based on the reminding of the targetvehicle is off-route.

In step 690, the computer server may send a signal to a target terminal.

The target terminal may refer to a terminal related to the targetvehicle, including, for example, a vehicle terminal, a user terminal, athird party terminal, a predefined platform, a data center (e.g., apublic security bureau data center, or a police station), or the like,or any combination thereof. The vehicle terminal may be associated witha manager, or an owner of the target vehicle. In some embodiments, theuser terminal may include a driver terminal (e.g., a driver on thetarget vehicle), and/or a passenger terminal (e.g., a passenger on thetarget vehicle), and/or a terminal of the party who initiates the safemode. In some embodiments, the third party terminal may be associatedwith the user terminal. The third party may associated with a predefinedterminal, for example, a relative, a guardian, or a friend of a user ofthe user terminal. In some embodiments, the third party terminal may beone or more terminals around the current position of the target vehicle.The third party terminal may acquire the signal reminding that thetarget vehicle is off-route.

The signal may include information related to the target vehicle,including, for example, a current position of the target vehicle, acurrent traffic condition of the current position, a reference position,a current time, a difference between the current position and thereference position, a driving route of the target vehicle, identityinformation of a driver or passenger, a photo of the driver orpassenger, identification information of the target vehicle (e.g., alicense plate of the target vehicle, an image of the target vehicle, avehicle type, vehicle age, a working condition of the target vehicle, acolor of the target vehicle, etc.), or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the signal may include an instruction fora driver, passenger, or a predefined third party to take action(s). Insome embodiments, an occurrence of an emergency associated with thetarget vehicle may be determined based on the signal.

In some embodiments, the computer server may automatically send thesignal to the target terminal. The signal may be sent in a form of amessage, call, command, or the like, or any combination thereof.Accordingly, the target terminal may receive the signal and present thecorresponding information as a message, vibration, sound, flicker, orthe like, or any combination thereof. For example, the signal may be avoice message from a driver or passenger on the target vehicle. In someembodiments, the voice message may be transmitted via a communicationconnection (e.g., via the network 120) between the user terminal and athird party terminal. The computer server may make a real-time voicecall to establish the communication connection between the driver orpassenger and the third party. Such that the third party may ensure thesecure state of the driver or passenger on the target vehicle based onthe real-time voice call.

In some embodiments, the computer server may send one or moreinstructions to the user terminal to remind the driver or passenger onthe target vehicle that the vehicle may be off-route. The instruction(s)may guide the driver or passenger to self-rescue or call for help. Forexample, the user terminal may display a graphical user interface (GUI)for the driver or passenger to release call for help. The driver orpassenger may trigger an emergency button on the GUI. In someembodiments, a party (e.g., the driver or passenger) of thetransportation transaction may initiate the safe mode before, after, orat the same time with any step of step 610 through step 690, and theparty may call for help according to the instructions. In someembodiments, upon releasing call for help, the user terminal maytransmit emergency information to a target terminal (e.g., a third partyterminal, a predefined platform, a public security bureau data center,or the like, or any combination thereof). In some embodiments, uponreleasing call for help, the user terminal may transmit emergencyinformation to the computer server, and the computer server may send asignal to the target terminal.

Merely by way of example, the user of the user terminal may be apassenger. The passenger may be aged, child, pregnant, handicapped, orthe like. In order to ensure the safety and achieve safety monitoring ofthe passenger, the computer server may send the traffic condition andthe driving route of the target vehicle associated with the passengerterminal to the target terminal. As another example, the user of theuser terminal may be a driver. In order to ensure the safety and achievesafety monitoring of the driver, the computer server may send thetraffic condition and the driving route of the target vehicle associatedwith the driver terminal to the target terminal.

It should be noted that in some embodiments, before step 650, the userterminal may automatically send a real-time position to the computerserver in real time. The computer server may obtain the real-timeposition of the user terminal and determine whether the target vehicleassociated with the user terminal is running on a predetermined drivingroute. Such that the monitoring of the target vehicle may be achievedeffectively, in order to ensure the safety of a user of the userterminal.

In some embodiments, the computer server may obtain several drivingroutes of the target vehicle from the departure position to thedestination position. In some embodiments, the computer server mayobtain several reference positions on corresponding driving routes. Insome embodiments, the computer server may monitor the target vehicle todetermine whether the target vehicle is on-route or off-route. Thecomputer server may determine whether the distance between a locationwhere the target vehicle is about to arrive (e.g., a second currentposition illustrated in FIG. 6) and the reference position is within apreset distance. As illustrated below, the detailed situation of theseveral driving routes may be described in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary driving routes andreference positions according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The schematic diagram in FIG. 7 is merely for illustrationand the scope of the present disclosure does not intend to limit thedriving route. In some embodiments, the driving route is a closed loop.For example, the departure and the destination may refer to a sameposition. As another example, the distance between the departure and thedestination may be less than a preset value.

In FIG. 7, there are three driving routes from the departure position tothe destination position, i.e., a first driving route 710, a seconddriving route 720, and a third driving route 730. Wherein, there arethree reference positions on the three driving routes respectively,i.e., a reference position Ron the first driving route 710, a referenceposition R′ on the second driving route 720, and a reference position R″on the third driving route 730. The reference positions R, R′, and R″are shown merely for illustration purposes, and other referencepositions (not shown) may be distributed on different positions of thefirst driving route 710, the second driving route 720, and/or the thirddriving route 730.

In some embodiments, one or more of the reference positions R, R′, andR″ may be intermediate points the target vehicle wishes to pass by. Thecomputer server may determine the first driving route 710, the seconddriving route 720, and/or the third driving route 730 based on one ormore of the reference positions R, R′, and R″. In some embodiments, thefirst driving route 710, the second driving route 720, and/or the thirddriving route 730 may be driving routes predetermined by the computerserver. The computer server may dynamically determine one or more of thereference positions R, R′, and R″ based on one or more of the firstdriving route 710, the second driving route 720, and the third drivingroute 730.

Merely by way of example, a first current position FC of the targetvehicle may be determined on the first driving route 710 via a globalposition system (GPS). The reference positions R, R′, and R″ may bepositions the target vehicle may arrive at after a reference time periodor reference distance.

In one example, the computer server may monitor an actual driving route740 from the first current position FC to a second current position SC1.In some embodiments, the second current position SC1 may be the positionthe target vehicle actually arrived after driving from the first currentposition FC for the reference time (e.g., five minutes) and/or thereference distance. The computer server may determine a distance betweenthe second current position SC1 and the reference position R on thefirst driving route 710 is within a preset distance. In someembodiments, a circle region 760 may be centered on the referenceposition R. The circle region 760 may include a plurality of positionswhose distance from the reference position R is within the presetdistance. As shown in FIG. 7, the second current position SC1 within thecircle region 760 may indicate that the target vehicle is on-route.

In another example, the computer server may monitor an actual drivingroute 750 from the first current position FC to a second currentposition SC2. In some embodiments, the second current position SC2 maybe the position the target vehicle actually arrived after driving fromthe first current position FC for the reference time and/or thereference distance (e.g., five hundred meters). The computer server maydetermine a distance between the second current position SC2 and thereference position R on the first driving route 710 is not within apreset distance. As shown in FIG. 7, the second current position SC2beyond the circle region 760 may indicate that the target vehicle isoff-route.

In some embodiments, emergency may occur to one or more parties (e.g.,the driver and/or passenger) of the transportation transaction even whenthe target vehicle is determined to be safe on-route. To secure thesafety of a party (e.g., the driver or passenger), the computer servermay monitor a user terminal of the party to determine whether there isan occurrence of an emergency. In some embodiments, the party mayautomatically send emergency information to call for help. Asillustrated below, the detailed process may be described in FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an exemplary method and/or process for sendingemergency information according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The process and/or method may be operated by a computerserver (e.g., the server 110) of an online transportation serviceplatform of the on-demand service system 100. For example, the methodand/or process may be implemented as a set of instructions and stored inat least one storage medium of the online transportation serviceplatform. At least one processor of a computer server of the platformmay communicate with the storage medium and execute the set ofinstructions to perform the following steps.

In step 810, the computer server may initiate a transportationtransaction between a first party and a second party. The first partyand the second party may access the online transportation serviceplatform. The transportation transaction may include a freightagetransaction, a taxi reservation, a tourist coach transaction, or thelike. The first party may access the online transportation platform viaa first user terminal. The second party may access the onlinetransportation platform via a second user terminal. The first party maybe the driver terminal and/or the vehicle terminal, the second party maybe the passenger terminal, or vice versa.

In some embodiments, when the first user terminal is the passengerterminal, the passenger may use the passenger terminal to access theonline transportation service platform and input travel information,such as the departure information and destination information, or thelike. The first user terminal may be an electronic device associatedwith the passenger of the vehicle. The second user terminal may be thedriver terminal. The driver may use the driver terminal to access theonline transportation service platform. The second user terminal may bean electronic device associated with the driver of the vehicle.

The computer server may obtain transaction information. The transactioninformation may include information regarding the service request, forexample, the departure information, the destination information, or thelike, or any combination thereof. The transaction information mayinclude information regarding the first party, for example, a currentposition of the first party, registration information of the firstparty, or the like, or any combination thereof. The transactioninformation may include information regarding the second party, forexample, a current position of the second party, registrationinformation of the second party, or the like, or any combinationthereof. The transaction information may be obtained from the firstparty, the second party, and/or a predetermined database (e.g., thedatabase 150) that stores the information.

In some embodiments, the transportation transaction may be establishedbased on an order-dispatch mode or an order-request mode. Inorder-dispatch mode, the computer server may dispatch a transportationorder to one of multiple driver terminals. In order-request mode, thecomputer server may send the transportation order to the multiple driverterminals, and the multiple driver terminals may respond for thetransportation order.

In order-dispatch mode, the transaction information associated with theregistration information of the second party may be generated after thecomputer server dispatches the transaction order to the second party. Inorder-request mode, transaction information associated with theregistration information of the second party may be generated when orafter the second party accepts the transaction order. The scope of thepresent disclosure may be not intend to limit the mode of thetransaction order allocation, such as the order-dispatch mode and/or theorder-request mode.

In some embodiments, when or after the transportation transaction isinitiated, the second party may be beyond a visible range of the firstparty. The computer server may send the current position of the secondparty to the first party to facilitate the first party to find thesecond party, or vice versa. For example, the computer server may sendthe current position of the passenger to the driver, thus the driver maydrive to the current position of the passenger and pickup the passenger.As another example, the computer server may send the current position ofthe driver to the passenger, thus the passenger may walk to the currentposition of the driver and get in the vehicle.

In step 820, the computer server may send registration information ofthe second party to the first party. The registration information of thesecond party may include registered identification information of thevehicle (e.g., a registration license plate of the vehicle, aregistration image of the vehicle, a registration vehicle type,registration vehicle age, a registration working condition of thevehicle, a registration color of the vehicle, etc.), driver identityinformation of the vehicle, an image of the vehicle, a phone number ofthe driver, or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the computer server may acquire the registeredidentification information of the vehicle (e.g., the registrationlicense plate of the vehicle) from the registration information. Whenthe computer server sends registration information of the second party,the first party may receive the registration information, and the firstuser terminal may display the registration information. The first usermay determine whether the registration information is consistent withthe actual information of the vehicle and/or the second party. In someembodiments, the computer server may send a reminder to the first party,and the first party may obtain the reminder. The reminder may remind thefirst party to confirm whether the registered identification informationof the vehicle is consistent with the actual information the first partyobserves.

In some embodiments, the first party may obtain the reminder beforegetting into the vehicle. When the actual information (e.g., the actuallicense plate) of the vehicle is inconsistent with the registeredidentification information (e.g., the registration license plate) of thevehicle, the first party (e.g., the passenger) may refuse to get intothe vehicle. In some embodiments, before driving, the passenger terminalmay obtain a photo of the second party (e.g., a driver photo) and sendthe photo to the computer server. In some embodiments, the driverterminal may take a photo of the driver by invoking a camera programbefore billing the transaction. The computer server may generate areminder after receiving the photo and send the reminder to the driverterminal. The driver terminal may receive, from the computer server, anddisplay the reminder indicating that the transaction may be monitored.For example, the driver terminal may display the reminder in a promptbox indicating that “The XX Public Security Bureau (PSB) has recordedthe transportation transaction”. Wherein, the XX Public Security Bureau(PSB) may be a legal jurisdiction of the transportation transaction.Thus, the security risks of taking a vehicle associated with fakeidentification information (e.g., fake license plate) may be avoided,and the safety of the passenger may be improved.

In some embodiments, the passenger may take an image of the vehicle inreal time and send the image of the vehicle to the computer server. Thecomputer server may generate a reminder based on the uploaded image ofthe vehicle and send the reminder to the driver terminal and/or vehicleterminal. The reminder may remind the driver that the image of thevehicle has been taken and uploaded. The reminder may remind the driverthat the vehicle has been monitored, or is to be monitored. The driverterminal and/or vehicle terminal may display the reminder. In someembodiments, the reminder may dispel criminal motive of the driverassociated with the vehicle terminal. In some embodiments, the computerserver may save the vehicle image and send the vehicle image to one ormore target terminals in case of an occurrence of an emergency. Thevehicle image may help the target terminal(s) to look for the vehicle torescue the passenger.

In some embodiments, when the first user terminal is an electronicdevice associated with a driver of a vehicle, the second user terminalmay be an electronic device associated with a passenger of the vehicle.The registration information of the second party may include identityinformation of the passenger, a phone number of the passenger, a photoof the passenger, or the like, or any combination thereof. Theregistration information of the second user terminal may be sent to thefirst user terminal.

In step 830, the computer server may determine an occurrence of anemergency to the first party. The occurrence of the emergency to thefirst party may be initiated by the first party. The emergencyinformation may include a position of the occurrence of the emergency,registration information of the second party, or the like, or anycombination thereof.

In some embodiments, the first user terminal may display a userinterface with an emergency alert. In some embodiments, the first usermay choose to open the user interface with the emergency alert on thefirst user terminal according to one or more instructions displayed onthe first user terminal. In some embodiments, the first user terminalmay display the user interface with the emergency alert as a systemdefault after the transportation transaction is initiated. In someembodiments, the first user may switch between the user interface withthe emergency alert and other interface(s). An alert button may beconfigured to cause the first party to send an emergency confirmationsignal when the alert button is activated. When the alert button isactivated (e.g., being pressed by the first party), the computer servermay determine an occurrence of an emergency to the first party isconfirmed. Meanwhile, the first user terminal may send emergencyinformation to the computer server, and the computer server may receivethe emergency information. The emergency information may include thelocation of the occurrence of the emergency, the time of the occurrenceof the emergency, registration information of the first party,registration information of the second party, the registeredidentification information (e.g., the registration license plate) of thevehicle, or the like, or any combination thereof. The location of theoccurrence of the emergency may be a current location of the first userterminal, a current location of the second user terminal, a currentlocation of the vehicle terminal, or the like.

In step 840, the computer server may send an emergency alert to a targetterminal. The emergency alert may include the emergency information. Thetarget terminal may be at least one of a third party terminal, apredefined platform, and a public security bureau data center, or thelike, or any combination thereof. The third party terminal may be adefault terminal or may be preset by the user of the terminal thatconfirmed the emergency. The computer server may send the emergencyalert to the target terminal based on the reception of the emergencyconfirmation signal from the first user terminal.

Merely by way of example, when the first party is the passengerterminal, the passenger may ask for help via clicking the alert buttonset on a user interface of the passenger terminal. When the passengerperceives the danger, the passenger may click the alert button in orderto send the registered identification information (e.g., theregistration license plate) of the vehicle, the location of theoccurrence of the emergency to the computer server and/or the publicsecurity bureau data center. The computer server may acquire multipleterminals in a preset region around the location of the occurrence ofthe emergency and send the emergency information to the multipleterminals. When the alert button is activated, the computer server mayaccept the emergency information from the passenger terminal and sendthe emergency information to the multiple terminals. A distance betweenthe multiple terminals and the location of the occurrence of theemergency may be shorter than a preset value.

Thereby the computer server may assist the passenger by asking thedrivers and/or passengers associated with the multiple terminals forhelp. In some embodiments, the multiple terminals may receive theemergency information and confirm to join the rescue action. The vehicleterminals associated with the multiple terminals may enable navigationto drive to the location of the occurrence of the emergency. Thus thepassenger may get support based on the alert button, and the safety ofthe passenger taking the vehicle may be improved.

In some embodiments, when the first party is the passenger terminal, thesecond party may be an unmanned vehicle, the passenger may activate thealert button on a user interface of the passenger terminal in case ofemergency. When the alert button is activated, the unmanned vehicle maytake actions, including, for example, send a signal, ring a warningsiren, or take an emergency brake, or the like, or any combinationthereof.

As another example, when the first party is the driver terminal, thedriver may ask for help via clicking the alert button set on a userinterface of the driver terminal. The emergency information may furtherinclude identity information of the passenger. When the alert button isactivated, the computer server may receive the emergency informationfrom the driver terminal and send the emergency information to a targetterminal. The emergency information may include the registeredidentification information (e.g., the registration license plate) of thevehicle, the location of the occurrence of the emergency, the identityinformation of the passenger, or the like, or any combination thereof.The location of the occurrence of the emergency may be the location ofthe driver terminal when the alert button is activated. In addition, theidentity information of the passenger may include a name, contactinformation, a photo of the passenger, or the like, or any combinationthereof. It may be easy to find the passenger when the safety of thedriver is under threat of the passenger. When the driver perceivesdanger, the driver may click the alert button in order to send theregistered identification information (e.g., the registration licenseplate) of the vehicle, the location of the occurrence of the emergency,or the like to the computer server and/or the public security bureaudata center. The driver may get support based on the alter button, andthe safety of the driver may be improved.

In some embodiments, the passenger may send a message to a presetcontacts before an occurrence of an emergency. The message may includeinformation regarding the registered identification information (e.g.,the registration license plate) of the vehicle, a real-time position ofthe vehicle, a photo of the driver, a vehicle image, or the like, or anycombination thereof. To further improve the safety of the passenger anddispel criminal motive of the driver, the passenger may send the messageto the preset contacts via the passenger terminal during the drivingprocess. In some embodiments, the passenger may preset contacts and/orselect contacts according to the need. The passenger terminal may sendthe message to the preset contacts in a form of HTML5 link associatedwith the registered identification information (e.g., the registrationlicense plate) of the vehicle and/or the real-time position of thevehicle. The preset contacts (e.g., a target terminal) may obtain themessage and click the HTML5 link to check the real-time position of thevehicle associated with the passenger.

It should be noted that in some embodiments, step 830 and step 840 maybe not necessary. Alternatively, upon confirming an occurrence of anemergency, the first user terminal may automatically send the emergencyalert to one or more target terminals without sending an emergencyconfirmation signal to the computer server. For example, when the firstparty perceives the danger, the first party may click the alert buttonshown in a user interface of the first user terminal, then the firstuser terminal may send the emergency information (e.g., registeredidentification information of the vehicle, the location of theoccurrence of the emergency, etc.) to the target terminal(s).

In some embodiments, one or more parties of the transportationtransaction may follow one or more instructions to call for help, and/orcancel for help. The instruction(s) may be displayed on a user interfaceof an application installed in a user terminal. In some embodiments,displaying of the instruction(s) may be booted by the computer server.Alternatively, the party may automatically invoke the user interface todisplay the instruction(s). As illustrated below, the details of theinstruction(s) may be described in FIG. 9-A through FIG. 9-C.

FIG. 9-A is a primary view of an exemplary user interface of the onlinetransportation service platform for displaying alert tutorialinformation according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Asshown in FIG. 9-A, the interface may display a gray mask layer, and uponthe gray mask layer may display a prompt box of the alert tutorialinformation. The alert tutorial information may prompt the user to shakethe user terminal (i.e., smartphone) in case of emergency during atraveling route of the transportation service. When the user shakes theuser terminal, the interface may jump to an interface of an alertbutton, as shown in FIG. 9-B.

FIG. 9-B is a variation diagram of an exemplary user interfacedisplaying an alert button according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The upper section of the interface may be a display areashowing prompt information corresponding to the alert, and the lowersection of the interface may display the alert button. In someembodiments, the interface may display a warning message to remind theparty not to trigger the alert button in a non-emergency situation. Inemergency situation, when the party clicks the alert button, theinterface may jump to an interface displaying online help information,as shown in FIG. 9-C.

FIG. 9-C is a variation diagram of an exemplary user interfacedisplaying online help information according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The upper section of the interface may be a displayarea showing help mode options. When the party selects one of the helpmode options, the user terminal may transmit the travelling information,and/or emergency information corresponding to the user to a targetterminal. Wherein, the target terminal may be predetermined by the partyor selected by the party in the help mode options, i.e., the user mayask a third party associated with the target terminal for help. In someembodiments, the user interface may provide a function of cancelling forhelp for the party. The lower section of the interface may display acancel button. When the user clicks the cancel button, the user maycancel the request of asking for help.

In some embodiments, the computer server may send a driving route to afirst party and/or a second party of a transportation transaction when atarget vehicle is driving from the departure position to the destinationposition. In some embodiments, the computer server may send a drivingroute to a driver terminal when the driver is driving the target vehicleto a pickup position to pickup a passenger. In some embodiments, thedriver terminal may broadcast the driving route to the driver.Therefore, one or more parties may listen to a broadcast to confirm thathe or she may be on-route without watching a navigation route displayedon a user interface of an application installed in a user terminal. Asillustrated below, the detailed process may be described in FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an exemplary method and/or process for sendinga POI driving route to a first party and/or a second party according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. The process and/or methodmay be operated by a computer server (e.g., the server 110) of an onlinetransportation service platform of the on-demand service system 100. Forexample, the method and/or process may be implemented as a set ofinstructions and stored in at least one storage medium of the platform.At least one processor of a computer server of the platform maycommunicate with the storage medium and execute the set of instructionsto perform the following steps.

In step 1010, the computer server may preset a POI database and categoryPOI information. The POI database may include one or more POIs. A POImay refer to a point of interest including a building or a road, forexample, a shopping mall, a park, a school, a hospital, a hotel, arestaurant, a supermarket, a tourist attraction, a landmark, or thelike, or any combination thereof. Each POI may have corresponding POIinformation. The POI information of a POI may refer to informationregarding the POI, including, for example, a POI name, a POI position, aPOI orientation, or the like, or any combination thereof. Merely by wayof example, in New York City, a POI name may be Times Square, a POIposition may be the geographical location of Times Square, a POIorientation may be the south of Times Square.

In some embodiments, the computer server may obtain the POI informationwithin a proper range, for example, a block, a city, a district, acountry, or the like, or any combination thereof. The POI informationmay be obtained by manual collection, package upload, street viewcollection, satellite data collection, or the like, or any combinationthereof. In some embodiments, the computer server may update the POIinformation based on terminal (e.g., the requestor terminal 130, theprovider terminal 140, etc.) feedback information. The computer servermay preset a POI database based on the POI information obtained. The POIdatabase may include POI information of one or more POIs.

In some embodiments, the computer server may category POI information inthe POI database. The computer server may category POI information basedon a road direction. A road may have two directions. Along differentdirections of the road, there may have different POI information. Insome embodiments, POI information along the same direction of the roadmay be regarded as the same category. In some embodiments, there mayexist several POIs in a road, but the POI information may be distinct indifferent forward direction. For example, there may be five POIs namedA, B, C, D, and E in a road extending along north-south direction. Whenthe forward direction of the driver is from the north to the south, thePOI may be A, B, and D within a visible range of the driver on one sideof the road (e.g., on the right side of the forward direction, i.e., thewest side of the road); when the forward direction of the driver is fromthe south to the north in the same road, the POI may be C and E within avisible range of the driver on the other side of the road (e.g., on theright side of the forward direction, i.e., the east side of the road).In some embodiments, a POI orientation may include a doorway of a POI, acorner of a POI, one side of the driver forward direction, an oppositeside of the driver forward direction, a diagonally opposite position ofa POI, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, Pekinguniversity east gate, Zhong guancun square north side, or the like.

In step 1020, the computer server may initiate a transportationtransaction between a first party and a second party. The first partyand/or the second party may be one of the parties mentioned above. Forexample, the first party may be a passenger, and the second party may bea driver. The computer server may initiate the transportationtransaction based on a service request sent from the passenger. Theservice request may include a desired departure position and adestination position.

In step 1025, the computer server may determine a pick up position. Insome embodiments, the computer server may determine the pickup positionas the desired departure position of the passenger, a current positionof the passenger, a current position of the driver, or the like. In someembodiments, the pickup position may be determined as a POI within apredetermined range (e.g., the nearest POI) of the desired departureposition of the passenger, the current position of the passenger, thecurrent position of the driver, or the like. In some embodiments, thePOI information of the nearest POI may be specific enough to direct thefirst party and/or the second party to the pickup position. Otherwise,it may have bad influence on the passenger experience, cause thewithdrawal of the transportation transaction, or reduce the income of adriver. In some embodiments, the pickup position may include the POIinformation, for example, a name of the POI, a position coordinate ofthe POI, an orientation corresponding to the POI, or the like, or anycombination thereof.

In step 1030, the computer server may obtain a first navigation routedirecting the first party (e.g., a passenger) to the pickup position. Insome embodiments, the first navigation route may be a route from thedeparture position of the passenger or the current position of thepassenger to the pickup position. In some embodiments, the firstnavigation route may be a route with a relatively short walkingdistance, or a relatively short walking time. The computer server maysend the first navigation route to a user terminal of the first party.The user terminal of the first party may display the first navigationroute, and the first navigation route may guide the first party to thepickup position.

In step 1040, the computer server may obtain a second navigation routedirecting the second party (e.g., a driver) to the pickup position. Insome embodiments, the second navigation route may be a route from thecurrent position of the driver to the pickup position. In someembodiments, the second navigation route may be a route with arelatively short driving time, a relatively short driving distance. Insome embodiments, the second navigation route may be a route avoidingroad congestion. The computer server may deliver the second navigationroute to a user terminal of the second party. The user terminal of thesecond party may display the second navigation route, and the secondnavigation route may guide the second party to the pickup position.

In some embodiments, the first (or second) navigation route may have oneor more POIs different from the pickup position. When the first (orsecond) party goes forward along the first (or second) navigation route,the computer server may send information regarding the POI(s) name,whether need to change direction, and/or when to change direction to thefirst (or second) party. In some embodiments, the user terminalassociated with the first (or second) party may broadcast the navigationroute. Thus, the first (or second) party may not need to watch thedriving route shown in the user terminal.

In step 1050, the computer server may obtain a third POI driving routedirecting the second party (e.g., the driver) to the destinationposition. A POI driving route may include one or more POIs. In someembodiments, the third POI driving route may be a route from a currentposition of the driver to the destination position. In some embodiments,the third POI driving route may be a route from the pickup position tothe destination position. In some embodiments, the first party and/orthe second party may change the destination position of thetransportation transaction, and the computer server may update the thirdPOI driving route based on the changed destination position. In someembodiments, the computer serve may send the third POI driving route tothe user terminal(s) of the first party and/or the second party. Theuser terminal(s) of the first party and/or the second party may displaythe third POI driving route. The first party and/or the second party maychoose to watch the third POI driving route at any time he or she wants.

In some embodiments, one or more POIs on the third POI driving route maybe predetermined by the first party and/or the second party, and thecomputer server may determine the third POI driving route based on thepredetermined POI(s). For example, the first party (e.g., a tourist) maywish the third POI driving route to pass through one or more touristattractions. As another example, the first party (e.g., a passenger) maypredetermine one or more POIs where the passenger wish to stop by, tomeet with someone or pick up a package. In some embodiments, the POI(s)may be predetermined by the first party when the first party send theservice request. In some embodiments, the POI(s) may be predetermined bythe second party when the second party accept the service request.

In some embodiments, the computer server may determine one or more POIdriving routes. In some embodiments, the computer server may determinean optimal route among the POI driving routes as the third POI drivingroute for the first party and/or the second party. The optimal route maybe determined based on current traffic condition information. In someembodiments, the computer server may send the POI driving routes to thefirst party and/or the second party, and the first party and/or thesecond party may select an optimal route as the third POI driving route.

In some embodiments, when the target vehicle is driving on the third POIdriving route, the computer server may obtain, based on current trafficcondition information (e.g., there may be a traffic jam on the third POIdriving route), a fourth POI driving route from a current position ofthe target vehicle to the destination position. The computer server maysend a message to the user terminal(s) of the first party and/or thesecond party to ask whether choose to change the third POI driving routeto the fourth POI driving route.

In step 1060, the computer server may monitor a real-time position ofthe first party and/or the second party. The user terminal(s) of thefirst party and/or the second party may automatically send the real-timeposition to the computer server in real time. The computer server mayobtain the real-time position of the first party and/or the second partyto determine whether the first party and/or the second party is movingtowards near a POI in the third POI driving route.

In step 1070, the computer sever may send the third POI driving route tothe first party and/or the second party based on the real-time positionof the first party and/or the second party. In some embodiments, whenthe real-time position of the first party and/or the second party iswithin a predetermined distance of a POI (e.g., a nearest POI of thereal-time position), the computer server may send the third POI drivingroute to the first party and/or the second party. In some embodiments,the predetermined distance may be within a visible range of the driver(e.g., 70 meters, 80 meters, etc.). In some embodiments, the third POIdriving route may direct the second party (e.g., the driver) to thedestination position. In some embodiments, the third POI driving routemay direct the second party to one or more predetermined intermediatespoint(s). In some embodiments, the computer server may send informationregarding the POI(s) name, whether need to change direction, and/or whento change direction to the first and/or second party. In someembodiments, the user terminal associated with the first and/or secondparty may broadcast the third POI driving route. Upon listening to thebroadcast of the third POI driving route, the first party and/or thesecond party may not need to watch the third POI driving route displayedon the user terminal(s).

It should be noted that in some embodiments, step 1030 and/or step 1040may be not necessary. For example, when a current position of the firstparty may be the same as the pickup position, step 1030 may be omitted.As another example, when a current position of the second party may bethe same as the pickup position, step 1040 may be omitted. Examplesregarding the sending of a POI driving route may be illustrated in FIG.11-A and FIG. 11-B.

FIG. 11-A is a primary view of an exemplary user interface of the onlinetransportation service platform for displaying a map including a pickupposition according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thecomputer server may obtain the current position (e.g., Beijing Languageand Culture University (BLCU)) of the first party (e.g., the passenger).And the computer sever may determine a POI (e.g., BLCU south gate) as arecommended pickup position for the first party based on the currentposition of the first party. In some embodiments, the computer servermay obtain a first navigation route from the current position of thefirst party to the recommended pickup position (e.g., from BLCU to BLCUsouth gate). The computer server may send the recommended pickupposition and/or the first navigation route to the user terminal of thefirst party. The user interface of an application installed in the userterminal of the first party may display the map showing the currentposition of the first party, the recommended pickup position, and/or thefirst navigation route (not shown). In some embodiments, the currentposition of the first party, the recommended pickup position, and/or thefirst navigation route may be highlighted (e.g., shown in differentcolors, in different fonts or sizes, in different tags, etc.).

The first navigation route may guide the first party to the pickupposition. In some embodiments, the second party (e.g., the driver) maybe not familiar with the current position of the first party, but mayfind the recommended pickup position more easily. Upon determining therecommended pickup position, the second party may not need to go to thecurrent position of the first party, or even confirm the currentposition with the first party via telephone communication(s). Thus, thesecond party may pickup the first party more easily, the waiting time ofthe first party may be reduced, and order cancellation rate may becontrolled accordingly.

FIG. 11-B is a primary view of an exemplary user interface of the onlinetransportation service platform for displaying a map including a part ofa POI driving route according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The user terminal of the driver may display the POI drivingroute in the map. In some embodiments, the POI driving route shown inFIG. 11-B may be a part of the first navigation route, the secondnavigation route, or the third POI driving route. As shown in FIG. 11-B,the POI driving route may be highlighted by one or more arrows, and thearrow(s) may indicate a forward direction. When the driver is goingforward along the POI driving route, the computer sever may monitor areal-time position of the driver (e.g., point A in FIG. 11-B). When thereal-time position is within a predetermined range (e.g., 80 meters) ofa next POI (e.g., Dianli Hospital), the computer server may send the POIdriving route to the driver (e.g., turn right at Dianli Hospital frontgate after 80 meters). The driver terminal may broadcast the POI drivingroute to the driver. Thus the driver may not need to watch the drivingroute shown in the user terminal. It should be noted that in addition todirection information and distance information, the computer server maysend a specific POI orientation (e.g., Dianli Hospital front gateillustrated above) to the driver. Therefore, the driver may determinewhere to change the direction more easily and more accurately,especially when there are two or more intersections close to each other.

Having thus described the basic concepts, it may be rather apparent tothose skilled in the art after reading this detailed disclosure that theforegoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way ofexample only and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, andmodifications may occur and are intended to those skilled in the art,though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, andmodifications are intended to be suggested by this disclosure, and arewithin the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of thisdisclosure.

Moreover, certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments ofthe present disclosure. For example, the terms “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” and/or “some embodiments” mean that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or morereferences to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternativeembodiment” in various portions of this specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures or characteristics may be combined assuitable in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Further, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects ofthe present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any ofa number of patentable classes or context including any new and usefulprocess, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new anduseful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combiningsoftware and hardware implementation that may all generally be referredto herein as a “module,” “unit,” “component,” “device” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readable mediahaving computer readable program code embodied thereon.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including electro-magnetic, optical, or thelike, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signalmedium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computerreadable storage medium and that may communicate, propagate, ortransport a program for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on acomputer readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriatemedium, including wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, or thelike, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB. NET,Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL2002, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby andGroovy, or other programming languages. The program code may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as aservice such as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

Furthermore, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, orthe use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, is notintended to limit the claimed processes and methods to any order exceptas may be specified in the claims. Although the above disclosurediscusses through various examples what is currently considered to be avariety of useful embodiments of the disclosure, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose, and that the appendedclaims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on thecontrary, are intended to cover modifications and equivalentarrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosedembodiments. For example, although the implementation of variouscomponents described above may be embodied in a hardware device, it mayalso be implemented as a software only solution, e.g., an installationon an existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofembodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimesgrouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereoffor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in theunderstanding of one or more of the various embodiments. This method ofdisclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intentionthat the claimed subject matter requires more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, claim subject matter lie inless than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. An on-route transportations monitoring system forsending an emergency alert to a target terminal, comprising: one or morenetwork ports to communicate with user terminals registered with anonline transportation service platform; logic circuits coupled to theone or more network ports, wherein during operation the logic circuits:initiate a transportation transaction between a passenger of a vehicleand a driver of the vehicle through the online transportation serviceplatform, the passenger accessing the online transportation serviceplatform via a first user terminal associated with the passenger, thedriver accessing the online transportation service platform via a seconduser terminal associated with the driver; send first signals to thefirst user terminal to generate a first presentation includingregistration information of the driver; determine an occurrence of apredefined emergency by receiving an alert for the occurrence of thepredefined emergency from the first user terminal, the alert resultingfrom activation of an alert button as part of a user interface displayedby the first user terminal; receive emergency information from the firstuser terminal; and send second signals including the emergencyinformation to a target terminal, the emergency information including alocation of the occurrence of the predefined emergency and theregistration information of the driver.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the target terminal includes at least a preset contact of thepassenger.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the target terminal isassociated with a preset contact by the passenger, a public securitybureau data center, or a police station.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the target terminal is associated with a data center associatedwith the online transportation service platform.
 5. The system of claim1, wherein to send the second signals including the emergencyinformation to the target terminal, the logic circuits further: send thesecond signals to the target terminal to generate a second presentationincluding the emergency information.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinto send the second signals including the emergency information to thetarget terminal, the logic circuits further: send the second signals tothe target terminal in a form of message, call, or command.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the registration information of the driverincludes at least one of registered identification information of thevehicle, driver identity information of the vehicle, or a registrationimage of the vehicle.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the logiccircuits further: send a reminder to the first user terminal to remindthe passenger to verify whether actual identification information of thevehicle is consistent with the registered identification information, orwhether actual identity information of the driver is consistent with thedriver.
 9. An on-route transportations monitoring method for sending anemergency alert to a target terminal, comprising: initiating, by atleast one electronic device of an online transportation serviceplatform, a transportation transaction between a passenger of a vehicleand a driver of the vehicle through the online transportation serviceplatform, the passenger accessing the online transportation serviceplatform via a first user terminal associated with the passenger, thedriver accessing the online transportation service platform via a seconduser terminal associated with the driver; sending, by the at least oneelectronic device, first signals to the first user terminal to generatea first presentation including registration information of the driver;determining, by the at least one electronic device, an occurrence of apredefined emergency by receiving an alert for the occurrence of thepredefined emergency from the first user terminal, the alert resultingfrom activation of an alert button as part of a user interface displayedby the first user terminal; receiving, by the at least one electronicdevice, emergency information from the first user terminal; and sending,by the at least one electronic device, second signals including theemergency information to a target terminal, the emergency informationincluding a location of the occurrence of the predefined emergency andthe registration information of the driver.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the target terminal includes at least a preset contact of thepassenger.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the target terminal isassociated with a preset contact by the passenger, a public securitybureau data center, or a police station.
 12. The method of claim 9,wherein the target terminal is associated with a data center associatedwith the online transportation service platform.
 13. The method of claim9, wherein the sending the second signals including the emergencyinformation to the target terminal includes: sending, by the at leastone electronic device, the second signals to the target terminal togenerate a second presentation including the emergency information. 14.The method of claim 9, wherein the sending the second signals includingthe emergency information to the target terminal includes: sending, bythe at least one electronic device, the second signals to the targetterminal in a form of message, call, or command.
 15. The method of claim9, wherein the registration information of the driver includes at leastone of registered identification information of the vehicle, driveridentity information of the vehicle, or a registration image of thevehicle.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the method furtherincludes: sending, by the at least one electronic device, a reminder tothe first user terminal to remind the passenger to verify whether actualidentification information of the vehicle is consistent with theregistered identification information, or whether actual identityinformation of the driver is consistent with the driver.
 17. An on-routetransportations monitoring system for sending an emergency alert to atarget terminal, comprising: one or more network ports to communicatewith user terminals registered with an online transportation serviceplatform; logic circuits coupled to the one or more network ports,wherein during operation the logic circuits: initiate a transportationtransaction between a passenger of a vehicle and a driver of the vehiclethrough the online transportation service platform, the passengeraccessing the online transportation service platform via a first userterminal associated with the passenger, the driver accessing the onlinetransportation service platform via a second user terminal associatedwith the driver; send first signals to the first user terminal togenerate a first presentation including registration information of thedriver; determine an occurrence of a predefined emergency by receivingan alert for the occurrence of the predefined emergency from the firstuser terminal, the alert resulting from activation of an alert button aspart of a user interface displayed by the first user terminal; receivethe emergency information from the first user terminal; and send secondsignals including the emergency information to a target terminalassociated with a preset contact of the passenger, a public securitybureau data center, a police station, or a data center associated withthe online transportation service platform, the emergency informationincluding a location of the occurrence of the predefined emergency andthe registration information of the driver.
 18. The system of claim 17,wherein to send the second signals including the emergency informationto the target terminal, the logic circuits further: send the secondsignals to the target terminal to generate a second presentationincluding the emergency information.
 19. The system of claim 17,wherein: the registration information of the driver includes registeredidentification information of the vehicle, driver identity informationof the vehicle, and a registration image of the vehicle.
 20. The systemof claim 19, wherein the logic circuits further: send a reminder to thefirst user terminal to remind the passenger to verify whether actualidentification information of the vehicle is consistent with theregistered identification information, or whether actual identityinformation of the driver is consistent with the driver.
 21. An on-routetransportations monitoring method for sending an emergency alert to atarget terminal, comprising: initiating, by at least one electronicdevice of an online transportation service platform, a transportationtransaction between a passenger of a vehicle and a driver of the vehiclethrough the online transportation service platform, the passengeraccessing the online transportation service platform via a first userterminal associated with the passenger, the driver accessing the onlinetransportation service platform via a second user terminal associatedwith the driver; sending, by the at least one electronic device, firstsignals to the first user terminal to generate a first presentationincluding registration information of the driver; determining, by the atleast one electronic device, an occurrence of a predefined emergency byreceiving an alert for the occurrence of the predefined emergency fromthe first user terminal, the alert resulting from activation of an alertbutton as part of a user interface displayed by the first user terminal;receiving, by the at least one electronic device, the emergencyinformation from the first user terminal; and sending, by the at leastone electronic device, second signals including the emergencyinformation to a target terminal associated with a preset contact of thepassenger, a public security bureau data center, a police station, or adata center associated with the online transportation service platform,the emergency information including a location of the occurrence of thepredefined emergency and the registration information of the driver. 22.The method of claim 21, wherein the sending the second signals includingthe emergency information to the target terminal includes: sending, bythe at least one electronic device, the second signals to the targetterminal to generate a second presentation including the emergencyinformation.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein: the registrationinformation of the driver includes registered identification informationof the vehicle, driver identity information of the vehicle, and aregistration image of the vehicle.
 24. The method of claim 23, whereinthe method further includes: sending, by the at least one electronicdevice, a reminder to the first user terminal to remind the passenger toverify whether actual identification information of the vehicle isconsistent with the registered identification information, or whetheractual identity information of the driver is consistent with the driver.